Mark Scott - Author

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfile 15: Josephine Butler voted 18th most important woman in world history!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Sun, 12 Aug 2018 11:36:00 +0000

A cameo of Josephine Butler. Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. Photo M Scott 2017

It’s good to learn that Dilston’s own Josephine Butler has recently been voted the 18th most important woman in the whole of world history:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/aug/09/marie-curie-tops-bbc-history-poll-of-women-who-changed-the-world

For someone so important, yet unknown to most, this recognition is richly deserved. She was born in Millfield, Northumberland in 1828 but spent her childhood and young adult years in Dilston House, near Corbridge. Josephine Butler is arguably the most important character in my novel Beyond the Witches’ Circle. She is very accurately portrayed in the book thanks to the existence of excellent documentary sources about her including lots of intimate personal correspondence.

If you want to understand what made Josephine Butler the woman she became, how her father John Grey of Dilston and her mother Hannah Grey shaped her, how she was tormented by crises of faith as she contemplated why there was so much evil at large in God's world, then you should read Beyond the Witches' Circle. It is based on extremely reliable sources, and yet is a compelling, readable story.

Here is a short but very interesting article about her life. It helps one understand how she came to be voted so high in the annals of world history.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2006/sep/21/art1?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The article, however, gives the impression that the story of Josephine Butler (and her husband, Reverend George Butler) rescuing prostitutes and other desperate women began when they moved to Liverpool. In fact, these activities started much earlier, even before their encounter with the suicidal Jane Scott in Corbridge in 1856 as dramatised in Beyond the Witches' Circle.

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(c) Mark Scott 2018

Beyond the Witches' Circle factfiles are short articles that give some historical background to the story, a historical novel by Mark Scott.

Be sure to subscribe (enter your email address at the top of the page) to the blog so you will be alerted when a new article is published.

Please visit the @BeyondTheWitchesCircle Facebook page.

Follow @MarkScottBTWC on Twitter.

Contact Mark Scott direct on markgscott@yahoo.co.uk

Beyond the Witches' Circle by Mark Scott is available as a paperback and a Kindle ebook from amazon.co.uk and international equivalents. Just search Amazon for this title, or visit this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Witches-Circle-Struggle-nineteenth-century/dp/1973410680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513443169&sr=8-1&keywords=beyond+the+witches+circle

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfile 14: Calling Matthew Charlton Kitchen, Tile and Bathroom Showrooms, Hollow Meadows, Hexham!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 20:22:00 +0000

If anyone knows Matthew Charlton of the Kitchen, Tile and Bathroom Showrooms, Hollow Meadows, Station Road, Hexham please draw his attention to this article!

Chapter 17 of Beyond the Witches' Circle is titled Hollow Meadows. Henry's Uncle Charlton lived at number 2, Hollow Meadows and worked at Hexham Railway Station as an inspector for many years. It is thanks to him that Henry got his job at Blaydon Station, just a few stops east along the Carlisle to Newcastle line. It's also the place where Reverend Matthew Green has a crucial meeting as he tries to investigate Henry's past for him. Much of this is fact-based. The census records, for example, show Charlton was a bricklayer in 1851, a wagon inspector (Nowth East Railway) in 1861, and a railway inspector in 1871, 1881 (when Henry arrived in Blaydon), and 1891. The census records also confirm his address from 1881 as 2 Hollow Meadows, Hexham. This is located at the junction of Station Road and Priestpopple.

The location of Hollow Meadows on Station Road, Hexham (1888). Map portion reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland.

Reverend Green walked from the Railway Tavern (now the Station Inn) to Hollow Meadows for his crucial meeting.

So what? Well, here's where it gets intriguing. Hollow Meadows is still there! The house where Reverend Green had his meeting is now Matthew Charlton's Kitchen, Bathroom and Tile Showrooms.

Matthew Charlton's Showroom. Photo M Scott 2017.

Here is a close-up of the sign to the right of the showroom:

The Hollow Meadows sign.

The big question is this: is Matthew Charlton, owner of these showrooms, in any way related to Charlton Scott? Charlton's mother (and Henry's grandmother) was Hannah Charlton (born 1801) before she married William Scott (born 1796) on 18th November 1820 in Hexham Abbey.

It would be great to discover that there is indeed a link. So, Matthew Charlton, please get in touch with me via the Facebook page below!

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(c) Mark Scott 2018

Beyond the Witches' Circle factfiles are short articles that give some historical background to the story, a historical novel by Mark Scott.

Be sure to subscribe (enter your email address at the top of the page) to the blog so you will be alerted when a new article is published.

Please visit the @BeyondTheWitchesCircle Facebook page.

Beyond the Witches' Circle by Mark Scott is available as a paperback and a Kindle ebook from amazon.co.uk and international equivalents. Just search Amazon for this title, or visit this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Witches-Circle-Struggle-nineteenth-century/dp/1973410680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513443169&sr=8-1&keywords=beyond+the+witches+circle

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfile 13: Dates, dates, it's all about dates

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 15:55:00 +0000

It's great to have old newspapers, but then you must honour the date! Jarrow Express.

If the previous article about date coffee was not your tipple, perhaps this one about dates of a different kind will appeal to you.

As I was writing and researching Beyond the Witches' Circle I was convinced that if I was to be successful at transporting people back in time to Victorian Tyneside and Tynedale I would have to be accurate about the people in my story: their names, ages, family members, addresses and occupations, for example. Census information was crucial to this. But I also wanted to be sure that the story slotted together correctly so far as the chronology was concerned. Sometimes this worked beautifully, for example, I worked out from Thomas William Scott's birth date that he must have been conceived out of marriage on or about Guy Fawkes Day 1881. If you've read the book you'll know why this is important but if you have not yet read it, I'm saying no more! Sometimes, however, it had me tearing my hair out. This is why Mrs Vallans, Lizzie Jane's mother, warms to the idea of the crucial marriage on Boxing Day 1881 and yet it is early March before she decides to speak to her husband about it. I couldn't get the real dates of other key events to fit without this protracted wait.

You may argue that I could have just made up the dates to be anything I liked. However, surely a historical novel is nothing if not a portrayal of a real or realistic set of events set to the discipline of an accurate "march of time"? I also believe that with so many interweaved lives it would be even harder to hold the story together as a historical novel if I didn't stick rigidly to the real dates.

Some examples of what might be called date discipline within the story include:

Without a doubt the most crucial date alignment is that Josephine Butler and her husband happened to be spending the autumn of 1856 in Corbridge Vicarage and St Andrew's Church when mostly they just spent summer in Dilston House then went back home to Oxford. I knew these facts (and much more) from Josephine Butler herself through her biography of her husband Recollections of George Butler published in 1900.
Boxing Day 1881 was a Monday and so it was indeed true that "The Mayors of Newcastle and Gateshead had announced some months ago that with Christmas falling on a Sunday in 1881 all the pits, factories, shops, offices, businesses of all types, and schools of Newcastle and Gateshead and all the surrounding villages were to have Boxing Day Monday the twenty-sixth of December as a holiday." Readers of the Morpeth Herald were reminded of this earlier decision in the newspaper's 31st December 1881 edition, which I accessed via the National Newspaper Archive.
The Abram Pit disaster which killed forty-eight men and boys was referred to by Reverend Matthew Green in his Boxing Day 1881 sermon: "Just six days ago we learned of an explosion at Abram Pit, near Wigan in Lancashire". The details of the disaster are recorded: "Abram Colliery Explosion 1881. On Monday, 19th December 1881, the district was shocked by the news of an accident of deplorable extent in the No. 4 Pit of the Abram Coal Company, at Abram." (Mining Disasters of the Leigh Area. Abram Colliery Explosion 1881. Leigh History Society. https://leigh.life/index.php?page=wiki&id=leighlife:minedis).
The book is set in two time periods in the nineteenth century: mid-century (1856-1857, in Tynedale) and late-century (1881-82, mainly in Tyneside). To further complicate things, it switches between these time periods thus: mid, then late, then mid, then late. I found it challenging to keep all the dates - and people's consequent behaviour, state of health and so on - correct within these switches.
An important turning-point in the story is that John Grey and his wife cannot keep looking after the child (I'm being deliberately vague here to avoid a spoiler) despite wanting to. This was because they lost most of their wealth in a bank collapse. This was important to the story because it forced the Grey's hand and made them seek a new home for the child against seemingly impossible odds. The bank was a real bank, the collapse was real (as was the build up to it over the previous year as described), and John Grey really did lose all that wealth. On 26th November 1857 the bank really did cease trading and a notice was posted on its locked doors announcing this fact. Looking at how old the child was on this date I realised he was too young to move home at that time. He would not have been weaned. Checking the 1861 census (which showed he had moved) I realised I had time to "play with" to keep him at Dilston for a while without clashing with other aspects of the story. I left it until the summer before he was moved, which worked well because Josephine and George were back for their Dilston summer holiday at that time. They could thus take part in the negotiations over the child's future. These negotiations are probably Josephine's finest hour in the story.

Why am I bothering to explain all this? I suppose because all this complex juggling is not apparent in the final story, and yet to me, it was a very real part of the challenge (and I suppose, appeal) of writing it.

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(c) Mark Scott 2018

Beyond the Witches' Circle factfiles are short articles that give some historical background to the story, a historical novel by Mark Scott.

Be sure to subscribe (enter your email address at the top of the page) to the blog so you will be alerted when a new article is published.

Please visit the @BeyondTheWitchesCircle Facebook page.

Beyond the Witches' Circle by Mark Scott is available as a paperback and a Kindle ebook from amazon.co.uk and international equivalents. Just search amazon for this title, or visit this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Witches-Circle-Struggle-nineteenth-century/dp/1973410680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513443169&sr=8-1&keywords=beyond+the+witches+circle

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfile 12: Anyone fancy a cup of date coffee?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 12:12:00 +0000

There are things that you will find in Beyond the Witches' Circle that I can be almost certain you will never have heard of before. Some are of monumental importance, such as the existence in the mid- to late- nineteenth century of the utterly repugnant practice of "Baby Farming": child murder on an industrial scale, or the part Josephine Butler played in our shared social history. Some are of a smaller nature: unimportant but (I feel) intriguing nevertheless. One such example is date coffee. It appears in chapter 20 "Date coffee for the visitors". Tom Vallans and his wife Margaret are enthusiastic drinkers of date coffee. In the story, they offer it to some important visitors. But was there ever such a thing as date coffee, and if there was, what was it?

I came across date coffee as I was reading old newspapers, doing research for my book. I was so taken by a set of adverts for a beverage I had never heard of in the Jarrow Express of September 9th, 1891 that I decided I simply had to build it into my book. On page 2 of this edition, down most of one side of the page, there were no less than fifteen similarly-presented adverts for date coffee. Here are some of the fifteen, with the copyright of the marvellous National Newspaper Archive duly acknowledged.

So, one shilling for a one-pound tin of marvellous health-giving and economical beverage that is adored throughout the land. What's not to like? (as we say nowadays). It "may be obtained through any Grocer or Chemist" we are told and Mr J Shepherd M.D. "Honorary Physician to Hospital for Consumption and Throat Diseases & Etc." says "I have pleasure in saying that I consider it exceedingly good" and he feels it "will be found a very valuable and nutritious article of diet". Well, that settles it then.

The odd thing is that I have searched for references to date coffee later in history without success. Perhaps it was just hype, the claims were all false, and the stuff tasted horrid. Who knows. At least Tom and Margaret Vallans and their visitors liked it!

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfile 11: Was there really a snowstorm when Henry arrived in Blaydon in January, 1881?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 14:37:00 +0000

Not taken in 1881!

When I started writing Beyond the Witches' Circle I began with Henry Scott arriving in Blaydon in the pouring rain. However, as I got further into writing the book, and also researching it, I became aware that at the time Henry arrived in Blaydon (January 1881) there was a significant weather event in progress: a great storm. Given that Beyond the Witches' Circle is a historical novel I am free to invent things for which no contradicting facts exist, but if I come across a reliable factual source (in this case about the weather at the time) then I am duty-bound to assimilate it into the story. Instead of struggling along the wet cobbled streets with a heavy pack cutting into his shoulder, Henry was to be battling through the snow, fierce winds, and generally blizzard-like weather that had plagued his journey from Shawwell House Farm north of Corbridge to Hexham and then by train to Blaydon. Indeed, during the walk to Corbridge, he was suffering from what we would now call moderate hypothermia. Being a member of a mountain rescue team I know what this entails: as the person becomes more seriously cooled their shivering stops, they can't form words properly, and they become irrational, for example. Unless they find shelter and warmth the next stage is probably continued cooling leading to cardiac arrest then death. Henry banged on doors and was taken in and helped, so he survived.

Readers may be interested in the sources I found regarding the great storm of 1881 and the hot summer that followed. Accordingly, I present these below.

"The meteorology has been of a remarkable character. The winter was one of extreme severity; our great navigable rivers were filled with floating ice. The carcass of a sheep was roasted whole on the frozen Thames. On 18th January [1881] a snowstorm, unparalleled in violence within living memory, swept over the land, and from the remotest point in the Shetlands to the far West of Cornwall the eye encountered nothing but snowdrifts of varying depths, some running to forty feet. In London and the great towns locomotion was paralysed, and in the sparsely populated country districts the sufferings of the inhabitants were intense. The railways upon even the great trunk lines were blocked, the telegraphic wires were in all directions broken down, and the descriptions of the scenes of misery in isolated hamlets, where the people, in danger of starvation, could scarcely be reached by means of ordinary communication, carried the mind back to the middle ages, when steam and electricity were alike unknown and man was helpless at a more than ordinary ebullition of the forces of nature." Retrospect of the year 1881. Alnwick Mercury 31 December 1881, page 3

"This year which began with such genial and unseasonlike weather now appears in its true winter character. The hard frosts of the last few days have culminated in an exceptionally heavy fall of snow. The ground is already thickly clad in white, picturesque to the eye but damp and unpleasant to the foot ... in several places the snow has been accompanied by loud thunder and vivid lightning ... The Tyne. A continuance of wintry and stormy weather off the Tyne has been reported. Yesterday there were further snow showers and the sea was heavy. Early yesterday morning the locality was visited by a violent thunderstorm, accompanied by vivid lightning, which continued for some time." Northern Echo 14th January 1881 page 3

"The Storm in the North. Owing to the storm of Tuesday and yesterday there has been a great delay in the arrival of trains, and consequently in the delivery of letters ... the frost shows a gradual giving way although the high wind which prevails and drifting snow render all outdoor locomotion both difficult and dangerous. Yesterday the thermometer as Southend, Darlington registered four degrees of frost, seven the previous day ... at Barnard Castle and Bishop Auckland the frost still continues with great severity. The river Tees is frozen over, and is in excellent order for skaters. At Bishop Auckland the river Wear is one unbroken sheet of ice from the West Mills to Witton Park." Northern Echo 20th January 1881 page 3

The summer of 1881 was a scorcher, as reflected in the story:

"... the thermometer in London registered 97 degrees [36 degrees Celsius] in the shade, a temperature never before recorded in the country. Then came August, with its unseasonable chilly atmosphere, and its heavy rains, which seriously interfered with the success of the harvest. Next followed the equinoctial gales, the storms of October and November leaving behind them a more than usually destructive chronicle of devastation and death." Retrospect of the year 1881. Alnwick Mercury 31 December 1881, page 3
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(c) Mark Scott 2018

Beyond the Witches' Circle factfiles are short articles that give some historical background to the story, a historical novel by Mark Scott.

Be sure to subscribe (enter your email address at the top of the page) to the blog so you will be alerted when a new article is published.

Please visit the @BeyondTheWitchesCircle Facebook page.

Beyond the Witches' Circle by Mark Scott is available as a paperback and a Kindle ebook from amazon.co.uk and international equivalents. Just search amazon for this title, or visit this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Witches-Circle-Struggle-nineteenth-century/dp/1973410680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513443169&sr=8-1&keywords=beyond+the+witches+circle

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfile 10: The Station Inn (formerly the Railway Tavern) - Hexham's wonderful gem

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Sun, 14 Jan 2018 19:09:00 +0000

I think I can safely say that the first Bed and Breakfast review ever published for the Railway Tavern, or the Station Inn as it is now called, was in 1881 in chapter 17 "Hollow Meadows" of Beyond the Witches' Circle. In the story, Reverend Mathew Green, the Vicar of St Cuthbert's Parish Church in Blaydon, stays in the Railway Tavern during his business trip to Hexham Abbey. He was so impressed with the full breakfast he was provided with that he considers asking for more. He also, somewhat unexpectedly, slept very well the night before.

"Reverend Matthew paid his bill for one night's stay, a quart of ale, a breakfast, and an irritating newspaper. He complimented the proprietor in respect of the first three and left the Tavern at ten minutes before ten o'clock."

The Station Inn, Hexham - a gem of a hotel in Hexham. Photo M Scott June 2017

I first came across the Railway Tavern when I was examining nineteenth-century OS maps of Hexham while I was researching for the book (see map below). It was very close to the railway station, as you would expect. I wondered if there was anything left of it now. To my delight, the building still exists as The Station Inn, a Bed and Breakfast, bar, and restaurant. I had decided to include it in the story. I made two trips from my home in Horwich up to Hexham as part of my research and, of course, each time I just had to stay in the Station Inn.

There is a reason I went twice to the Station Inn. I absolutely loved staying there the first time and I was equally delighted the second time. Why? Just because it's a lovely, delightful, quirky, down-to-earth place with really friendly and super-helpful staff, comfortable rooms, and the most brilliant full English breakfast cooked and served by the nicest chap you could want to meet. There's a cosy bar too. I felt a little sorry for the bar staff as I couldn't stop telling them about my (then) half-finished book. To be fair, they were very interested and asked me to let them know when it was published. I shall do so now, and send a link to this blog post! I've stayed in hotels all over the world but nowhere I have stayed has the charm and welcome of the Station Inn. I'd love an excuse to go and stay again. The Station Inn is the antidote to the way many hotels etc have become: sterile, generic, soul-less places that do the job but are never memorable. The Station Inn, with its creaky floorboards, and odd-shaped rooms, has what I want: character, friendly staff, a great sleep, and a great breakfast. That's why I wrote it into my story.

It's also amazingly good value. Rev Matthew Green and I both give it 5 stars, albeit 140 years apart!

The Railway Tavern, Hollow Meadows, and Priestpopple. Nineteenth-century OS Hexham map portion reproduced by permission of the National Lbrary of Scotland

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfile 9: Was there, indeed is there, a Witches' Circle at Winlaton?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 10:31:00 +0000

The short answer is- yes! I first came across an Internet reference to it by accident while I was searching for information about the Old Forge at Winlaton. An article by freelance writer Paul Brown entitled "The Witches' Circle" dated 26th October 2012 captured my imagination. He wrote about "... ring of oak trees around 60 feet in diameter" by the village of Winlaton four miles west of the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. I quote from his article:

I grew up with stories of the Witches’ Circle – of sorcery and hauntings and curses. We were warned to keep away. It was an evil place, we were told. We ignored the warnings, of course, and it became an annual tradition each Halloween, after dark, to go down to the Witches’ Circle. Some 20-odd years later I’m still fascinated by the place. (Brown, 2012)

Paul's article includes a portion of an 1862 map showing the exact location of the Witches' Circle as being adjacent to Lands Wood, south of Winlaton. If you paste these latitude / longitude coordinates into the search box of Google maps at http://www.google.co.uk/maps

54.946980, -1.717412

and then switch to satellite view you will see the tiny ring of trees that is the Witches' Circle. Zoom out and in with the + and - buttons and you will be able to appreciate where the feature is in relation to Lands Wood, the villages of Winlaton Mill and Winlaton itself, Blaydon, the River Tyne, Gateshead, and Newcastle.

Here is an extract from a six inch OS map published in 1899.The Witches' Circle is shown clearly.

The Witches' Circle is the patch just right of lower centre. Winlaton and Lands Wood, 1899 OS map reproduced with permission of the National Library of Scotland.

According to the modern maps and the satellite imagery there is a track from Rydal Crescent heading diagonally across the field heading towards and then into Lands Wood heading for Winlaton Mill. This is known locally as the Black Path.

Annotated Google satellite image of the same area. Google maps, 2017

I visited Winlaton in 2017 partly to confirm the existence and character of this path, Lands Wood, and the Witches' Circle. I needed an isolated outdoor location for my story and the Witches' Circle seemed perfect. It also gave me an opportunity to describe some local history in relation to the Winlaton Witches that I had come across in Paul's article and in other research. There is some fanciful speculation by two of the characters in my story as they recount what they know about these witches during their visits to the Witches' Circle. They frighten themselves somewhat by recounting the stories. A phrase used during one of their visits gives the book its name, Beyond the Witches' Circle. As a result of this some potential readers believe the book is going to be mainly about witchcraft. It isn't, of course, but there is a tiny amount of historical description about the Winlaton Witches.

Hagg Hill lies just to the east of Lands Wood. It's worth doing a Google search for "Hagg Hill Winlaton" as there are some more interesting stories to be found. All in all, this is an interesting area, despite seeming very ordinary.

Finally, the stone slab in the centre of the Witches' Circle no longer exists, but it is mentioned in Paul's article so I just had to include it in the story!

The Witches' Circle, Winlaton.

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfile 8: Coffee Johnny and the Geordie anthem "The Blaydon Races"

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 23:00:00 +0000

"Coffee Johnny" of Winlaton, whose real name was John Oliver, died in 1900 aged 72. He was (and remains) a famous Geordie and Winlaton character. He was born in Winlaton, lived all his life there, and died there. He is mentioned in verse six of the very famous "The Blaydon Races" song by Geordie Ridley:

Verse six:

The rain it poured down all the day

And made the ground quite muddy

Coffee Johnny had a white hat on

Shouted 'Wee stole the cuddy?'

There were spice stalls and monkey shows

And old wives selling ciders

And the chap on the ha'penny roundabout

Saying 'Any more lads for riders?'

Chorus:

Oh me lads, you should've seen us gannin

Passing the folks along the road

And all of them were starin'

All the lads and lasses there

They all had smilin' faces

Gannin along the Scotswood Road

To see the Blaydon Races

"The Blaydon Races" is an established Geordie anthem, and can invariably be heard being sung with immense passion at football matches when fans of Newcastle United FC do their best to unsettle the visiting team at St James' Park football stadium.

In the story "Beyond the Witches' Circle" Coffee Johnny works alongside another real Winlaton character, the hingesmith "Uncle" Robert Hurst, in the Old Forge at Hood Square, Winlaton. There is good evidence to suggest this was in fact the case. Also, Coffee Johnny's "antics" regarding funeral processions, and his tall white top hat, mentioned in the story (and the other mentions of him within it) are based on research. There will be more about Robert Hurst and the Forge in a future article.

St Paul's Church, Winlaton. Photo M Scott.


John Oliver's memorial in the graveyard of St Paul's. Photo M Scott

Close up fromprevious photo.

John Oliver is buried in St Paul's, Winlaton. In the graveyard across the road from the church there is a headstone in memory of him. This is not his original memorial stone. It is a recent memorial erected in recognition of his place in Blaydon and Winlaton's history, and indeed his place the history whole of Tyneside.

Here are some online links to further information about John Oliver / Coffee Johnny:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-dm5fyj5nE

http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Blaydon_Races.htm

http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DUR/Winlaton/Coffee

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Mark Scott
Beyond the Witches' Circle factfiles are short articles that give some historical background to the story, a historical novel by Mark Scott.

Be sure to subscribe (enter your email address at the top of the page) to the blog so you will be alerted when a new article is published.

Please visit the @BeyondTheWitchesCircle Facebook page.

Beyond the Witches' Circle by Mark Scott is available as a paperback and a Kindle ebook from amazon.co.uk and international equivalents. Just search amazon for this title, or visit this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Witches-Circle-Struggle-nineteenth-century/dp/1973410680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513443169&sr=8-1&keywords=beyond+the+witches+circle

Beyond the Witches' Circle factfile 7: Christmas in Blaydon in the 1880's - and best wishes for the season to all readers of my blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Sun, 24 Dec 2017 21:55:00 +0000

I thought it would be fitting to write a short factfile about Christmas in the 1880's since I am writing this on Christmas Eve. Chapter 19 "One extra for Christmas" gave me an opportunity to do some research into what kind of Christmas Tynesiders would have experienced then. Before I started, I had many concerns about writing the chapter as I feared writing in things that we take for granted now but were unheard of then. Not wanting to give away the plot, the chapter was mainly about the unease between the two main families in the story, but I saw it as an opportunity to portray a little of life at that time. The excitement of the lead up to Christmas was the same then as it is now; it was about creating magic mainly for the children. But there was also a strong Christian dimension. That is so for some now, but in 1880 religion was a far more prevalent force in people's lives. Hence the Christmas sermon in St Cuthbert's mentioned in an earlier post. I also had some wonderful information from newspapers and weather station information that enabled me to be accurate in setting the festivities in balmy spring-like weather.

Tom and Margaret Vallans had, at that time, six children, all girls. I knew they lived in a small stone-built cottage on Fountain Lane in Blaydon, so I tried to imagine what it would be like in their house at that time. Hectic, I imagined, bustling and exciting.

I also had to begin preparing readers for the shock to the Vallans family that had to come, sooner or later, but I'll say no more of this as I don't want to put a spoiler alert on a Christmas blog posting!

Here are some of the many historical sources I used:

"[From after Prince Albert's tree was publicised in about 1850] ... Soon every home in Britain had a tree bedecked with candles, sweets, fruit, homemade decorations and small gifts ... In 1881 Cassell's Family Magazine gave strict directions to the lady of the house: "To bring about a general feeling of enjoyment, much depends on the surroundings… It is worthwhile to bestow some little trouble on the decoration of the rooms" ... Gift giving had traditionally been at New Year but moved as Christmas became more important to the Victorians. Initially gifts were rather modest – fruit, nuts, sweets and small handmade trinkets. These were usually hung on the Christmas tree. However, as gift giving became more central to the festival, and the gifts became bigger and shop-bought, they moved under the tree ... The roast turkey also has its beginnings in Victorian Britain. Previously other forms of roasted meat such as beef and goose were the centrepiece of the Christmas dinner."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/victorianchristmas/history.shtml [16/4/2017]

"Kissing beneath the mistletoe, Santa, exchanging gifts, caroling, all wonderful traditions embraced by the Victorian Era, are some of our best loved traditions ... It was a tradition quickly embraced by Victorian England. Live trees were set up for the Christmas season decorated with lighted candles, draped with tinsel, ribbon, paper chains, cookies and candies."

http://www.thecompletevictorian.com/christmas.html [16/4/2017]

"The Gifts -At the start of Victoria's reign, children's toys tended to be handmade and hence expensive, generally restricting availability to those "rich folk" again. With factories however came mass production, which brought with it games, dolls, books and clockwork toys all at a more affordable price. Affordable that is to "middle class" children. In a "poor child's" Christmas stocking, which first became popular from around 1870, only an apple, orange and a few nuts could be found."

http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/A-Victorian-Christmas/ [16/4/2017]

Wherever you are in 2017, and whether you are buried in my book or not, I wish you a wonderful Christmas!

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Mark Scott
Beyond the Witches' Circle factfiles are short articles that give some historical background to the story, a historical novel by Mark Scott.

Please visit the @BeyondTheWitchesCircle Facebook page.

Be sure to subscribe (enter your email address at the top of the page) so you will be alerted when a new article is published.

Beyond the Witches' Circle by Mark Scott is available as a paperback and a Kindle ebook from amazon.co.uk and international equivalents. Just search amazon for this title, or visit this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Witches-Circle-Struggle-nineteenth-century/dp/1973410680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513443169&sr=8-1&keywords=beyond+the+witches+circle

Beyond the Witches' Circle factfile 6: Shawwell House Farm and Stagshaw Parsonage.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 13:20:00 +0000

In chapter 2 Henry travels from Shawwell House Farm north of Corbridge to Blaydon to start his new job. He did so in a fierce winter storm and, having got as far as Hexham, he had to shelter at his uncle Charlton's house because further travel was impossible. Shawwell House Farm is of great importance to the story. It is where Henry was raised by Marge Scott after he was brought there as a toddler aged one year. It is also the location of other important parts of the story, as is the adjacent Stagshaw Parsonage. The map below shows the area in the late nineteenth century. Corbridge is to the south.

Shawwell House Farm and Stagshaw Parsonage. Map portion reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland.

Shawwell House Farm and Chantry Farm can be seen, as well as Stagshaw Parsonage which is between Shawwell House Farm and the main road from Corbridge to Stagshaw and further north, Hadrian's Wall. St Aidan Stagshaw Chapel can be seen top left. This is where Reverend John Walker was Chaplain. His name is fictitious, but Stagshaw Parsonage next to Shawwell House Farm was indeed the residence of the chaplain of St Aidan Stagshaw Chapel.

Do these places still exist? Indeed they do. Having determined from Google Street View that the farm buildings and parsonage were still in place, the author visited this location on 13th June 2017. There he met John T, the present day owner of Shawwell House Farm (now called Shawwell Farm Cottage). John was very hospitable and helpful and was kind enough to show the author around both the outside and the interior of the cottage. With his permission the author took photographs some of which are reproduced below.


Shawwell House Farm (now Shawwell Farm Cottage, as on the blue plate), northern elevation.

Shawwell House Farm, southern elevation and garden.


Stagshaw Parsonage viewed from the garden of the adjacent Shawwell House Farm.

Readers will recall that the party from Dilston House arrived at Stagshaw Parsonage in two carriages parked to the left of the house shown in the picture.

As the author was writing this blog article, John T, the owner of Shawwell Farm Cottage, is reading the story!

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Beyond the Witches' Circle factfiles are short articles that give some historical background to the story, a historical novel by Mark Scott.

Be sure to subscribe (enter your email address at the top of the page) so you will be alerted when a new article is published.

Beyond the Witches' Circle by Mark Scott is available as a paperback and a Kindle ebook from amazon.co.uk and international equivalents. Just search amazon for this title, or visit this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Witches-Circle-Struggle-nineteenth-century/dp/1973410680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513443169&sr=8-1&keywords=beyond+the+witches+circle

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfile 5: Rev Matthew Green's sermon - a tricky passage to write!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 21:03:00 +0000

Towards the end of chapter 19 "One extra for Christmas," Reverend Matthew Green gives a sermon to his parishioners on Christmas Day in his church, St Cuthbert's Parish Church, Blaydon. Not being reverend myself, I found this quite a challenge to write. For example, I wanted him to quote from the Bible. Which version of the Bible would he have quoted from? After a little probing I found it was likely he used the King James Edition. These are the quotes he used from it, with the references (which are not given in the story):

Jesus said: but when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. Luke 14, verse 13.

He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse. Proverbs 28, verse 27.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Psalms 23, verse 4.

I wanted to take the opportunity of the sermon to introduce some wider happenings from that time (December 1881). I chose the pit disaster in Abram, Lancashire, and the happenings in the Boer Wars, among other events. I used the National Newspaper Archives for this. It's a fantastic resource that I made a great deal of use of during the research for the book.

However, I still wondered about the approach I had taken to writing the sermon, and whether it was too hectoring. Was it even realistic? That's a hard question to answer given the year it was to have been delivered, but even putting aside the 140-year gap, I was nervous.

I am fortunate to have a friend who is an Archdeacon! I plucked up courage and sent the sermon piece to her. She made some really useful suggestions, but she thought the approach was realistic and sound, so I felt a great deal of relief, made changes based on her suggestions, and then moved on from the sermon to the (hopefully) dramatic concluding chapters.
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Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfiles are short articles that give some historical background to the story, a historical novel by Mark Scott.

Be sure to subscribe (enter your email address at the top of the page) so you will be alerted when a new article is published.

Beyond the Witches' Circle by Mark Scott is available as a paperback and a Kindle ebook from amazon.co.uk and international equivalents. Just search amazon for this title, or visit this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Witches-Circle-Struggle-nineteenth-century/dp/1973410680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513443169&sr=8-1&keywords=beyond+the+witches+circle

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfile 4: A Winlaton Guy Fawkes day - what was it like in 1881?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 19:48:00 +0000

In chapter 18 "A Winlaton Guy Fawkes Day" residents from Blaydon and Winlaton head for a field beyond St Paul's Church in Winlaton for a bonfire to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day. I am grateful to the author of an online article for the background material that supported this part of the story. Another blog, "The Victorianist" described the nature of Guy Fawkes Day in the 1880's in great detail (full URL below). The following quote indicates parts that inspired this part of the story. This is actually from The Times in 1886, quoted in the blog "The Victorianist".

"Guys carried on chairs ... masquerades of ... military and naval officers, clowns, jockeys ... bands ... torchbearers ... Some of the public houses on the route were made gay with flags and Venetian lamps, and hundreds of residents displayed coloured lights from the windows or roofs of their houses ... decorated with Chinese lanterns, and coloured fires were burned from roofs and windows, producing a picturesque effect. The dangerous practice of discharging fire works in the streets was also freely carried on by some of the bystanders awaiting the arrival of the procession, a perfect fusillade going on in some quarters ..."

http://thevictorianist.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/trivial-scorchings-or-bonfire-nights-in.html

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Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfiles are short articles that give some historical background to the story, a historical novel by Mark Scott.

Be sure to subscribe (enter your email address at the top of the page) so you will be alerted when a new article is published.

Beyond the Witches' Circle by Mark Scott is available as a paperback and a Kindle ebook from amazon.co.uk and international equivalents. Just search amazon for this title, or visit this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Witches-Circle-Struggle-nineteenth-century/dp/1973410680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513443169&sr=8-1&keywords=beyond+the+witches+circle

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfile 3: The personalities of Henry and Lizzie Jane

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Sat, 16 Dec 2017 16:54:00 +0000

There is a considerable amount of documentation in existence regarding Henry and Lizzie Jane to enable one to construct the story of the key events in their lives and to weave a narrative around that for the story. However, remarkably, there is just one incredible piece of witness testimony about them known to the author and it comes from someone who actually knew them; a granddaughter. The author's Great Aunt Marion Robson Ablett née Scott (1912-2016) was the granddaughter of Henry Scott and Lizzie Jane Scott née Vallans; Marian's father Walter Scott (1884-1962) was their second-born child. When Marian was asked by her son Brian in 2016 (when Marian was aged 103) if she remembered anything about her grandparents she said Henry Scott sat in his chair most of the time and never said a word whereas his wife was a very broad, loud Geordie, who never stopped talking! This unique insight is incorporated into the story.

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfiles are short articles that give some historical background to the story, a historical novel by Mark Scott.

Be sure to subscribe (enter your email address at the top of the page) so you will be alerted when a new article is published.

Beyond the Witches' Circle by Mark Scott is available as a paperback and a Kindle ebook from amazon.co.uk and international equivalents. Just search amazon for this title, or visit this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Witches-Circle-Struggle-nineteenth-century/dp/1973410680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513443169&sr=8-1&keywords=beyond+the+witches+circle

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfile 2: Astronomy in the story

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 20:21:00 +0000

In chapter 18 "A Winlaton Guy Fawkes Day" Henry and Lizzie Jane enjoy the stars and planets on a wonderfully clear night near Lands Wood, Winlaton. It will have been truly spectacular, unlike that which most people could see now, because they had negligible glow from city lights in those days. It occured to me that readers may be interested to learn that the celestrial objects viewed by Henry and Lizzie Jane in the story on that day (5th November 1881) are, perhaps surprisingly, described in the acual positions they were in on that day in history. That is to say, the Moon (which was full, and dazzling), Jupiter, Saturn, the Big Dipper (Ursa Major or the Great Bear), the North Star (Polaris), Cassiopeia, and the Pleiades. The couple point these out in relation to their surroundings for example:

"Now look over there beyond the Witches' Circle, towards Winlaton." (!)

How was it possible to know the positions of these objects on that day in history?

Here, I confess, I indulged my science and computing background somewhat!

I used a program for the PC called Winstars 2.0 to chart the skies on that day at 2000Hrs GMT on Winlaton Hill.

The night sky on 5th November 1881

I then use a mapping program called Memory Map with OS maps to work out what landmarks could be used to describe the direction of the objects. Finally, taking things perhaps a step too far, I used a 3D mapping program to make sure nothing I was describing would be obscured by the surrounding terrain, especially the hill above them towards Winlaton!

It was all unnecessary, of course, but I did enjoy doing it.

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfiles are short articles that give some historical background to the story, a historical novel by Mark Scott.

Be sure to subscribe (enter your email address at the top of the page) so you will be alerted when a new article is published.

Beyond the Witches' Circle by Mark Scott is available as a paperback and a Kindle ebook from amazon.co.uk and international equivalents. Just search amazon for this title, or visit this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Witches-Circle-Struggle-nineteenth-century/dp/1973410680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513443169&sr=8-1&keywords=beyond+the+witches+circle

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfile 1: Fountain Lane, Blaydon, now and then

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 19:33:00 +0000

In the story Lizzie Jane lived in Fountain Lane with her parents Tom and Margaret Vallans. In the mid-nineteenth century Fountain Lane starts as a street off Bridge Street and then becomes a footpath over fields as it climbs heading south away from the Tyne.

Fountain Lane starts top centre and heads south, 1898 Six Inch OS map, reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland.

Eventually the footpath (or "cut" as locals call it) reaches what used to be called Back Lane, but is now called Croftdale Road (it is still called Back Lane further west).

In the story Henry and Lizzie Jane travel this route a few times, most significantly in chapter 3 after the have visited the forge at Hood Square, Winlaton then the Witches' Circle.

What has happened to this route in modern times? Thanks to the National Library of Scotland's web site at www.nls.uk we can combine the old and the modern maps.


Showing how the Fountain Lane footpath has been built over in modern times. 1898 Six Inch OS map, reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland.

It can be seen that the footpath crosses Thornton Crescent, Chesmond Drive, and Rushley Crescent. It seems unlikely that anything could remain of the track now, but I took the opportunity to check it on 13th June 2017 during a visit I made doing research for the book. I should add that I live in Horwich, near Bolton, so I'm not local to the area.

The Blaydon end of Fountain Lane still exists. It just about connects the B6317 (Ryton) and the A695 (Prudhoe, Hexham) before they come together at a large roundabout. It starts close to what was the New Inn, where Blaydon Burn meets the Tyne. More about that another time. All the old streets around here, and indeed much of the heart of old Blaydon, were destroyed to make way for the new road system; a fact many of the older inhabitants (understandably) very deeply regret.

Google satellite view of Fountain Lane

Nothing remains of the Iron Works that was behind Lizzie Jane's house. It covered the whole of the area to the right of Fountain Lane in the above image.

I parked my car in what's left of Fountain Lane and started to explore. It's not a very pretty spot, but at least it is there.

The start of Fountain Lane

I headed south away from the Tyne and struggled to cross the busy A695. To my delight, there is an inviting looking cut (or ginnel, as we would call it in Horwich) following the route of the old Fountain Lane. It starts immediately across the A695. I wondered how far this historic route would continue.

Where Fountain Lane (as was) meets the A695.

The next photographs tell a remarkable tale as I walked (steeply!) up towards Croftdale Road where Henry and Lizzie Jane would have turned right to the (now absent) Carr's Cottages. The original route of the path is still there, albeit broken up by crossing some streets. That pleased me greatly!

Beyond the Witches' Circle Factfiles are short articles that give some historical background to the story, a historical novel by Mark Scott.

Be sure to subscribe (enter your email address at the top of the page) so you will be alerted when a new article is published.

Beyond the Witches' Circle by Mark Scott is available as a paperback and a Kindle ebook from amazon.co.uk and international equivalents. Just search amazon for this title, or visit this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Witches-Circle-Struggle-nineteenth-century/dp/1973410680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513443169&sr=8-1&keywords=beyond+the+witches+circle

Introducing "Beyond the Witches' Circle" by Mark Scott: a new historical novel about Tyneside in Victorian times

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Scott) — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 14:23:00 +0000

Beyond the Witches' Circle by Mark Scott is a historical novel set in Tyneside, Northeast England, in the mid to late nineteenth century during the reign of Queen Victoria. At that time being a poor, unmarried, and pregnant woman was an extremely dangerous combination: government, society, family and employers turned against you and your baby to make an example of you and to discourage others. One such poor woman was so utterly desperate that she contemplated taking her life along with that of her unborn child. Her faith prevented her. This is the story of what became of her and how her plight reached through the decades to affect her son's chances of love and marriage. It is set in towns and villages along the banks of the great River Tyne - Blaydon, Winlaton, Corbridge, Hexham and Dilston - in the counties of Durham and Northumberland. It swings in mood from homely to harrowing and from joyous to dark as it follows the lives of working-class Tynesiders. The story has been carefully researched so that all the places, most of the people, and many of the events described are real. Newspapers, maps, and other sources from this period have been used to make the story's context authentic. It was a time when belief in God was almost universal. It was also a time when Britain's first feminist - the remarkable evangelical Christian, Josephine Butler (who appears in the story, and to whom the book is dedicated) - was finding her life's calling, a US president was assassinated, an attempt was made on the life of Queen Victoria, mining disasters were commonplace, and tiny babies were abused and killed on an industrial scale for profit. It was also a time of immense energy, optimism, confidence and entrepreneurialism. But what mattered most was the same then as it is now: family, love, and belonging.

Once the book has published this blog, mgscott.blogspot.co.uk, will feature a series of articles giving fascinating background that was uncovered while it was being researched. For example, chapter 2 sees Henry Scott strugglng through the snow to travel from Shawwell House Farm north of Corbridge, to Hexham and on to Blaydon. That storm, in January 1881, was a real event of exceptional severity. The blog will give the background to the storm using contemporary newspaper articles and meterological records.